Glass walls and a low horizontal roofline make this Los Angeles County midcentury modern home appear both solid and weightless.

The hillside California property was designed by local architect John F Galbraith in 1965 and has changed little since then. It lies in the North Kinneloa Ranch neighbourhood above Pasadena.

A low-rise rectangular volume topped with a flat, overhanging roof creates the form of this three-bedroom home – for sale for $2.189 million with Deasy Penner Podley. It is surrounded gardens with the San Gabriel Mountains as its backdrop.

Horizontal lines, a deep fascia and raised planters form its entrance pergola, which has views of gardens beyond. A glass-box doorway sets the tone for the house, which has an open layout, a glazed rear facade and internal and exterior walls clad in vertical redwood planks.

Inside the Pasadena property has well-preserved custom-made vintage features including a wood-clad drinks bar, a central stone fireplace that divides the sitting and dining room and wooden kitchen furniture.

A curved-edged pool offers city, mountain and sunset views, and the 40,169 sq ft lot also includes a productive orchard, workshop and garage.

Quincy Jones’s Los Angeles home and studio is for rent